If you're not watching the Capitals, you should be

  • Thread starter Lanky Livingston
  • Start date
Happy hour starts in 5 minutes
I liked that, I uploaded the Hat Trick to YouTube:

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIsv8iiSFyo[/media]
 
Caps put the streak on the line in Montreal tonight. Its the last meeting of the season with the Habs, and we lead the series 2-1. They are pretty devastated by injuries, so it *should* be a cakewalk for the Caps.

My prediction is they will win tonight, then lose tomorrow against a red-hot Ottowa team.
 
thanks for your dedication to the caps, lanky! if they get that game-winning streak, fine. but the real prize is the lord's cup! i hope they don't forget that. 'peaking too early' and 'complacency' are their enemies now...
 
I refuse to believe in media myths like "peaking too early," or the "Olympic break blues." A well-coached team, with tons of talent and strong veteran leadership, will not fade early in the playoffs. That being said, I'm with Gabby - hopefully its a Canada/Slovakia final in the Olympics...ha!

As to the streak, I was perfectly happy when they won 11 in a row and beat the old franchise mark; I'm not too concerned with 18. If it happens, amazing. If not, meh.
 
is it a media myth though? i've seen some great red wing teams fold early in the playoffs after tremendous seasons. the trek through the nhl playoffs may be the toughest in sports.
 
beamish said:
is it a media myth though? i've seen some great red wing teams fold early in the playoffs after tremendous seasons. the trek through the nhl playoffs may be the toughest in sports.
Click to expand...

People always quote the 2006 Red Wings as the primary example of the Olympic break tiring out their star players. However the previous two Olympics that NHL players were involved in the games, 2001-02 and 1997-98, the Red Wings WON the Stanley Cup, with a team stocked with Olympians. Both years, the teams had two players from the championship game, meaning they played the maximum amount of games (Chelios and Hull in 01-02 for USA - Silver, Yzerman and Shanahan in 01-02 for Canada - Gold). Sergei Federov (Russia 98 & 02), Pavel Datsyuk (Russia 02), Nicklas Lidstrom (Sweden 98 & 02), Igor Larionov (02 - Russia), Dmitri Mironov (Russia 98) & Tomas Holstrom (Sweden 02). The 2001-2002 Red Wings had 7 Olympians, but went on to hoist the Cup! The 98 Red Wings had 5 and won the Cup.

And while the obvious main-cogs of the Capitals powerhouse are Backstrom, Ovechkin and Semin, there are plenty of important role-players who will get their batteries recharged during the two-week vacation.

Here is an article from ESPN (not the best hockey source, I know) about the Olympic break:

http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/olyhockey/columns/story?columnist=frei_terry&id=4394028
 
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lanky - good points but i was thinking about the 96 chicken wings. there is a long list of chicken wing teams that couldn't get it done, but those 96ers set the season record for wins and points and coasted through the final two months.

then the playoffs started and they yawned through a six-game series against a pathetic winnipeg team, then they were still lethargic vs an old st louis team going to the brink for seven-games & 2xOTs, before hitting the wall against st. patrick roy and a young avs team.

just worrying maybe a bit too much about the caps thats all. it would be a huge dc disappointment if they don't get the finals after such a dominating season thus far...
 
Well, as to that, the season was a lot more compressed back then, apparently. This is addressed in the ESPN article I posted. It *shouldn't* be an issue for the Caps...but then again, you never know. I'm much more concerned with one of our stars suffering a serious injury during the Olympics, than any of them tiring out because of them.
 
you had to bring up the injury issue, now i'm really worried :betterwink2:
you know ovie will be playing hard for the mother country. i'll be watching with one eye open/ closed.
 
Well, all good things must eventually come to an end. Such did the streak this evening, as the Caps scored 3 third period goals to tie the game, could not complete their come back and lost 6-5 with 7 seconds left in OT.

Some awesome Caps facts:

The Caps' winning streak was halted at 14, the third-longest streak in NHL history and second-longest in DC sports history.

The Caps have the best PP in the league. Take away those 61 goals, though, and they'd still rank sixth in the league in goals.

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are the only two players in the league in the top 10 in both goals and assists.

Nicklas Backstrom is the fifth Cap with a point streak of at least nine games this season.
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Sad to see Ovi's goal get washed out, such BS. That could have been a momentum changer.
 
Caps return to the ice tonight against Olympic tournament MVP and American hero Ryan Miller. Its the classic battle of the unstoppable force (Caps offense) vs. the immovable object (Miller). Sabres have the advantage that they played last night, so got a chance to shake off the rust.
 
The end of that game was great. The Caps could not have made it any more exciting.

Also, wonderful call for high sticking on Semin.
 
5-1 PP disadvantage, no Brooks Laich, and the Caps still beat a high-quality opponent. Took a shootout, but still a victory. That makes us 3-0 against the Pens on the season, with the final meeting on Tuesday April 6th. If everything goes as planned, however, the Caps will have wrapped up the President's Trophy by then, and might be sitting some key guys to rest them for the playoffs. This essentially constituted a season sweep - eliminated the Pens from winning the Eastern Conference.
 
Capitals clinch the Eastern Conference tonight with a win over Carolina and a NJ Devils loss (regulation or OT/SO) to the Rangers. If the Blackhawks also lose and the Flames get one point, the Caps will clinch their conference before any other team clinches a playoff spot!
 
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